Enthusiastic Merriman Hopes to be in Pads Sunday

Shawne Merriman participated in Chargers individual drills and 7-on-7s but was held out of team drills – in part to keep him from coming back too fast and in part to prevent a rookie from accidentally rolling up on his braced knee.

“I'm over the top with my (stuff) right now, so I'm really trying to pace myself,” he said. “It's the hardest thing for me to not go full blast and get amped up and get hyped up.”

He hopes to be allowed to go in the first workout in pads Sunday but might not.

“They want to make sure I'm all the way good mechanically,” Merriman said. “They know my knee is 100 percent. They're watching me. They're trying to (contain) me. I'm glad they are, because if they didn't, I wouldn't.”